TESLA EXPANDING FAST-CHARGING STATION NETWORK

Tesla Motors is expanding a network of fast-charging stations, letting owners of its luxury electric cars drive coast-to-coast this year with devices able to repower them in 20 to 30 minutes.

The Palo Alto carmaker is also tripling the number of solar-powered supercharger stations by the end of next month so that owners of its $70,000 Model S sedan can drive cross-country, Tesla said Thursday. The goal is to boost the size and usefulness of the network, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said.

Tesla needs a broader network of charging stations to appeal to customers beyond California and the northeastern U.S., where it now has eight fueling spots. Without such stations, Tesla drivers are limited by the estimated 265-mile range of a battery charge.

The initial batch of new stations is being added in California; between Vancouver, Seattle and Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas, to Dallas; Illinois; and Colorado. Owners repower their cars for free at the stations.

By 2014, the company said it expects to have about 100 charging stations, within reach of 80 percent of people in the U.S. and Canada, and 98 percent by 2015.